Harmonie is out of the water now getting a long list of projects done. One of our routine projects is to end-for-end the anchor chain so we even out the wear across its length. We missed that project at our last haul, so now it has been about 3 years since we installed the chain after having it regalvanized.

Here it is, all 300 feet of it, reversed and reattached to the anchor ready to be reattached to the line that holds it to the boat.

Galvanizing is a layer of zinc over steel that protects the steel from corrosion in several ways. In properly hot dipped galvanizing the zinc is not just a surface coating, but actually diffuses into the steel, so is not easily rubbed off.

Let’s have a closer look at the chain…

One the right are the chain links that were closest to the anchor, that get run in and out and hauled over the windlass gypsy, the left is chain which rarely leaves the locker. The locker end of the chain is covered with a layer of soft, white, crusty zinc oxide, which is missing from the working links on the left. This is not the actual protective layer, but rather the product of the zinc doing its job. It is mechanically removed from the chain by the process of hauling the anchor. With in a few weeks of anchoring, the chain on the left will look like the chain on the right. That’s the point of this whole exercise: To even out the effects of mechanical wear and corrosive effects of salt water.

One of the internet myths that gets repeated often enough by people with more experience in an armchair than on a real boat is that you should never use stainless connections with galvanized chain because they are “galvanically incomparable.” In the real world, we can quickly see this is bunk.

We use a cast stainless steel swivel to attach our galvanized anchor to our galvanized chain. Here is a closse up photo of the link that has been clamped tightly in that swivel for three years.

In one small spot the galvanizing has worn through where it rubbed against the swivel. The surrounding zinc has done its job, and well protected the steel from immersion in salt water. It has not eroded away any faster than the bulk of the chain. This is a myth we can call “busted.”

Over all I am very pleased by the quality of the galvanizing job we had done. No significant corrosion at all. It looks like we can easily get another 2 years out of it, maybe significantly more.

Next Steps..

We are hoping to get back int he water at the end of this coming week. We are making pretty good progress on our projects, but also have a lot of non-boat logistics to handle in the coming days. Once back in the water, we’ll be headed to the Bahamas, and slowly make our way down the island chains to the Eastern Caribbean.